Job misery for victims of Katrina

Ten weeks after Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, a quarter of the people who fled the city are still unemployed - and among black and hispanic refugees, the unemployment rate is as high as 40 per cent.

Washington-based think-tank the Economic Policy Institute, which calculated the figures from official data, said unemployment among evacuees was 'rampant' and the government should make creating jobs a priority.

'Given that many of those who left the affected areas have low incomes and little savings, they need to get back to work as soon as possible,' said the EPI's Jared Bernstein.

Victims who have been unable to return to their homes have found it hardest, the jobless rate among this group is more than a third, and almost a half for black evacuees.

President Bush has promised $60 billion for relief and reconstruction, and designated the region as a Gulf Opportunity Zone, offering tax relief for investment; but Bernstein said it was important to ensure local people are employed in rebuilding their city.

'Congress should quickly craft and implement policies to help them find transport and temporary housing, and a system to help match them up with employers,' he added.